Wide Angle Lenz [beta]

Here’s a secret: The only real history I have with the Hulk is the 2003 film (which sucked) and the character’s role in the Ultimate Avengers series(which I like). I haven’t seen the original television show, nor have I read any of the comics. As it’s somewhat impossible to be a Marvel geek and not know anything about the major characters, I do know of Bruce Banner, Betty Ross and the roles they play in the story.

So I went in to The Incredible Hulk with hardly any expectations. The trailers looked good, and I want the awesome geekfest that is the summer of 2008 movie season to keep going, but I really wasn’t expecting anything spectacular two hours later. I don’t think it was spectacular, but it was pretty good (and leagues better than Ang Lee’s version).

Let’s start with the character of Bruce Banner. I have heard of the squabble that went down between Edward Norton and Marvel Studios. Basically Norton had a script that explored what Bruce Banner has to endure living with the Hulk inside of him, but Marvel wanted a shorter version of the film that was more action-packed and showed the Hulk in full green glory sooner than Norton’s script had him appearing.The thing that is interesting about the Hulk isn’t the fact that he’s huge and can beat the crap out of nearly anything or anyone, it’s Bruce Banner’s struggle to understand it and control it. It’s what the Hulk does to Bruce, to Betty, to the city/world, and ultimately the Avengers. However, Marvel decided that a mere 15 minutes more of the film would make it too long and depressing for the audience to handle. LAME. All that said, though, I liked what Edward Norton did with Banner. He was a bit tougher than I expected, but I think it worked.

The entire beginning of the film was well done and I liked seeing him forced to be away from nearly everything that could frustrate him. I thought the anger management session with the martial artist was a really nice touch I wouldn’t have expected - probably because I’m not well versed in Hulk lore.

Although I haven’t watched the show before, I’m familiar with the theme song with him walking along the street - another one of those things you pick up being a geek I guess - and really liked the shot of Norton walking along the streets, hearing the theme. It was a nice touch. The little references like that worked really well in this film, which is very unusual in the Marvel films. Stan Lee had a role that actually contributed to the plot, and Lou Ferrigno’s role worked just as well - by the way, holy crap that guy is still REALLY buff. I also enjoyed the purple pants quite a bit.

The Abomination creature/character worked, and I think the build of creating that villain was much better than most hero flicks (most recent job not well done building a villain was in Iron Man). However, I really didn’t like Tim Roth’s portrayal of the superhuman soldier. He swallowed a lot of his lines and didn’t carry enough umph behind the guy. It’s interesting that they alluded to a new supervillian via the scientist that helps Banner and Ross, because I don’t think Marvel has plans for a Hulk2.

The thing that makes or breaks any Hulk film is how we actually see the Hulk on screen. There will always be a connection with live action that can’t be achieved (right now, at least) with visual effects, duh, but the expectation of a two-story Hulk makes that unachievable with any human. So the visual effects have to make the viewer truly believe they are looking at the Hulk, and not images created in post. That said, I think the Incredible Hulk looked good. The first sequence with him in the factory was awesome, and the close-ups were believable.

I liked The Incredible Hulk much better than I thought I would. I’d go see it if you’re a Marvel/super hero film fan. One more thing… Hulk SMASH!

4 out of 5

In my current state of unemployment I am working for the non-profit group Waypoint Services as a before- and after-school daycare substitute. This program consists of a head “teacher” and assistant watching over kids, kindergarten through fifth grade, for a couple hours on each side of the school day. When one is unavailable they call a sub with the hours available. That’s where I come in, and until the end of the school year I’ll be at the same elementary school every morning and afternoon.

Last week was my first time at this particular school, and the first week of my fortnight there. On my second day I overheard the “teacher” reprimanding a seven-year-old girl for reading too much in front of half the class. That’s right, got in trouble for showing interest and reading longer than expected. I didn’t jump in, guns a blazin’, trying to rashly figure out why this was happening. Instead, after the seven-year-old was finished being embarrassed by the adult, I attempted to ask if there was a reading program that Waypoint was encouraging that I was unaware of, or whatever reason might make up for what just happened – and I asked as we are both surrounded by the entire class. What did happen, though, made it worse. The sorry excuse for a teacher told me little Elizabeth was a part of a reading program hosted by the Cedar Rapids Kernals, which is dependant on minutes read, and that there was no way she (the enthusiastic seven-year-old Elizabeth) could have read 90 minutes because she “is a really bad reader.” Saying this for the entire class to hear. (I soon found out that this “teacher” has had a nasty habit of making fun of this little girl already)

I looked over and Elizabeth is sitting at her table, Harry Potter and the Sourcerer’s Stone in hand bookmarked at page 90, with her head down in embarrassment.

How unacceptable can you get? We need to be encouraging reading. Be it poetry, novels, comics, manga, or pop-up books, parents and teachers have a responsibility to encourage reading. If your child, or a child you are taking care of, likes to read, and is found reading, SUPPORT THEM. Don’t you dare sarcastically tell them they’re bad at it, fueling other kids to make fun of her too. Help them embrace it and let them make the decision of whether they’re going to be a lifelong reader.  Find ways to support literature and language development, like the popular vocabulary quizzing Free Rice.

When I went over to her and praised her for reading what she had, she shyly looked up at me and smiled, and I saw her swell with pride just a little bit.

SPOILER ALERT

“Really? They’re making another Indiana Jones film? Sigh…”

That was my thought when I initially found out that Indiana Jones 4 was going into production. Not because I don’t like Indiana Jones and his amazing adventures. Like many my age, I grew up knowing the trilogy well and watched the films many times. I just felt like it wasn’t necessary. The Last Crusade wraps things up nicely, was an awesome film (my favorite) and, after all, is called the last crusade. Don’t get me wrong, I supported the film and wanted it to be as amazing as the rest (except for Temple of Doom), but I was a bit afraid of what it would do to the franchise.

Turns out I had nothing to worry about.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is great, it fits well into the existing trilogy and captures the feeling of an Indiana Jones film. Choosing to use the original opening credits visual motif was brilliant. That was a great idea that immediately connected me with the very first film and helped bridge the time gap. It delivers on exactly what we want to see out of Indy: goofy, action-packed adventures.

Harrison Ford did a great job, and you can tell he had a lot of fun stepping back into the shoes of the legendary archaeologist. The script didn’t hide in the slightest that the story was taking place several years after the third film, and the fact that Mutt makes fun of Indy for his age makes it even better. People are giving the movie a lot of crap for Indy getting married at the end and being softer than he was. I think it’s perfect. Henry “Indiana” Jones Jr has experienced the death of his father and Marcus Brody, two very important people in his life, has fought in a demanding war with the military demanding a lot from him, and has dealt with whatever other things life threw his way. He doesn’t exactly lead a stress-free life. So it makes absolute sense that twenty or so years later we’re seeing a slightly softer Indiana Jones who very well might be ready to tie the knot with someone he felt strongly about long ago. Especially if he found out some young punk who’s making a good impression on him turns out to be his son. So bravo George Lucas and David Koepp for giving Indy a little depth.

That said, this should be the last Indiana Jones film. It wraps the story up very nicely. Yeah, I know, George has a story in mind that puts Mutt in the lead and Indy in a supporting role, much like Henry Jones Sr. in the Last Crusade, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Sure, I’d go see it because it’s Indiana Jones – or would it be called Mutt Jones, that isn’t catchy at all – but please just go out on top with this film and go on making other great adventure stories.

Roger Ebert has a great review on this film as well. I didn’t mention the points he makes here, because his site is definitely worth checking out.

Admittedly, I haven’t mentioned a lot of the nit-picky things in this review, but what are your thoughts on the film? Leave comments and we can discuss further!

4.5 out of 5

If things keep going the way they are this summer, 2008 is going to be one of the best summer movie seasons I’ve ever seen. I saw The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian last night and really liked it. This was much better than the first one for me. There were some elements that I really didn’t like, but overall it’s a good film.

I haven’t read the books yet – although they have been sitting on my desk for months now, waiting to be read – but especially after seeing the second film, they are books I am excited to read. So going into the films, I am completely unaware of what will be happening. What happened in Prince Caspian was a bit of a shock for me. With the last film I was very used to hearing about all of the religious connotations the film had, all of the groups that were supporting it and trying to get people to go see it, and that it felt like a Disney movie for kids and teens. Not that adults couldn’t enjoy it. Many of my friends, and myself, enjoy the first film. This film is much more violent and has much darker themes in it. For example, attempting murder on Prince Caspian as a new heir to the throne is born. This is not a bad thing, I just wasn’t expecting these brutal tones from the Narnia series.

I loved the story of Prince Caspian, the world transitioning from the new and evil Telmarine world back into Narnia with the help of a Telmarine Prince. The Pevensie children grew up a bit and their acting improved with that, they were much more enjoyable to watch this time around. I liked Ben Barnes as Prince Caspian, I was a little impressed actually. Definitely supposed to be the heartthrob leading guy, but I think he did a good job with the role. Like in the first film, I really enjoyed the visual effects with the magical creatures and characters. I cared about what happened to some of them, like the badger and mouse, and thought they were written well.

I didn’t watch the first film before I went into Prince Caspian, so I forgot completely about the kids living in Narnia until they were much older, finding the closet door again, going through it, and being young in the real world again. That said, as a stand-alone film they do a bad job of explaining that time difference. They allude to how they were “much older then” and hold up adult-sized clothes, but it isn’t explained to a point in which the viewer really know what happened. This was confusing to me. However, I am sure that these films are being made to be considered part of a series, much like the Lord of the Rings films, and when watched together make a lot more sense. That just makes me wish these films were being made back to back – knowing there’s at least one more.

The visual effects were very good. Enough said really. It was another satisfactory job of creating a fantastical environment with believable characters and effects that were detailed and enjoyable to see. However, the film tried to be overly dramatic and intense at times, I felt. Some of the slow motion and editing techniques used were totally ineffective and distracting in contributing to emotion they were trying to convey. I also really enjoyed how the opening credits were handled. Opening credits seem to be taken out of summer blockbusters now, but I think this film did a nice job of making them noticed without distracting from the opening narrative.

The biggest criticism I have is the kiss at the end. Holy crap did that feel forced. It was completely predictable and did not feel natural. As in, I didn’t think for a second that the two characters should be kissing in the first place – and in the book, I’m told, they don’t kiss at all. For some reason the studios must feel that at the end of stories like this there should be two characters that kiss in order to help close the story out. That’s great when it fits the story! I didn’t feel any connection between Caspian and Susan.

I left the theatre really liking this film and excited to see the next one. Keep the great summer coming!

4 out of 5

I came across this on Cool Hunting and immediately wanted the Japanese version. It’s nothing new to correlate images with foreign language learning, but the way it is presented in the Me No Speak Language Companion is really nice. They are simple, little books with great images that present the knowledge in an easy to comprehend way. I think I’ll be picking up a Japanese one soon.

So I attempted to do my half hour of sketching last week on a notebook while my friend turned GTA4 on for the first time. Needless to say I was pretty distracted, and that shows in my sketch. I was also refrencing images online through my iPhone, so it was a challenge all around to get some quality sketching in. That said, I still wanted to post what I did. I was looking at Samurai Jack, a creation of the brilliant Genndy Tartakovsky, because I really like his style and have been trying to recreate it for a while now. I don’t think what I did this time around is anything near my best work, but I was still hoping to get some feedback. What do you guys think?

(sorry it isn’t horizontal, I don’t have Photoshop and Preview won’t save it the way I want it to…)

So I’m already off to a good start with the whole weekly movie review plan. I have been a bit busy with interviews in San Francisco and other things, so that is why my Speed Racer review is coming to you now instead of Saturday, May 10th.

Growing up I watched a lot of cartoons, naturally, but one I didn’t watch very often was Speed Racer. I knew what it was, but for reasons I don’t know any more, I didn’t watch it that much. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were my primary animated interest as a child - rightfully so too. In high school I started watching anime (Japanese animated shows and movies). It all started with watching the Freeza Saga in Dragonball Z, and I have been watching a series here and there ever since (Bleach and Naruto Shippuuden currently). I mention that because the anime style of action and storytelling is very familiar to me, something that is also familiar in the Speed Racer film (this will come in a bit later in the review).

I liked this film, I really did. I went into it knowing of the show by reputation only, expecting a fun, digital ride by the Wachowski brothers and a storyline that isn’t too deep – it’s marketed as a children’s movie after all. It met my expectations and then some. Call me sappy, but I like stories that concern an entire family fighting to resolve something together. It deals with a family coming together to overcome a big obstacle and standing by each other. It was very moving, I loved it.

The cast was really interesting to me. I wouldn’t think of Susan Sarandon to play Mom in what is basically an animated children’s film, but it was great to see her in it and I think she did the part fantastically. Now I’ve always liked John Goodman, as a kid I thought the Flintstone’s movie was great, and while I’ve been watching the West Wing lately, I enjoyed him in his brief role. I was really happy to see that he has gotten himself in better shape; he acts better and is more enjoyable to watch on screen (and I was a little worried about him when he was at his heavier weight). His role as Pops was great. A bit predictable at times, but overall I think his role in the story fit well and was very touching.

Mathew Fox is growing on me. I have been watching Lost since season one (and so should you, it’s fantastic), but I didn’t really like him at first. I think he’s evolving as an actor well and transitioning into films well too. What was done with Racer X worked, the twist at the end explaining the accident and face manipulation explained things nicely.

Spritle and Chim Chim were hilarious. They were a bit overused as the comic relief of the film, but really fun to watch. The fight scene when they were watching cartoons – awesome.

Speed and Trixie worked. I think Trixie was a great role for Christina Ricci to break out of the type of characters she usually plays. She looked fantastic as Trixie and I hope that we get to see her doing more light-hearted films like Speed Racer. In the animated show I do remember the mach speeds that Trixie spoke at. I don’t think it’s humanly possible to speak that fast without alteration, but she had some moments that reminded me of it. Not much to say about Emile Hirsch as Speed, he did an adequate job. Nothing that stood out to me, but that doesn’t mean he did a bad job. He was enjoyable to watch as Speed Racer.

The action was great. The movie is cut like a high-speed, action-packed film and there is a lot of fun to it. If you have ever watched anime, you are familiar with the action lines that appear in dramatic fights as the character is charging towards its opponent in a fighting pose. I laughed out loud the first time I saw that happen in this film. The fight that happens in the middle of the grand prix with the snow falling was great. Utilizing the snow as a visual and dynamic element added a lot to the fight with a sense of motion and speed. The hand-drawn settings that happen in the movie twice were very cool. I thought it fit the story and film perfectly. This film walked a very fine line, very successfully, of creating a live-action animated film. As in, it was clear that most of the movie was done in post-production and was very over the top, out of this world elements and technology. But it worked, it worked very well.

This is another solid film from the Wachowski brothers that doesn’t tell the audience blatantly that there is a sequel (perhaps they are sticking to stand alone films to make up for botching the Matrix trilogy? (by popular opinion, I liked the third one)). If you like fast-paced action, fun humor, a touching story, are in touch with the Saturday morning cartoons side of your childhood, and of course automobile racing, go see Speed Racer – it’s a great ride.

4.5 out of 5

The last two nights I watched Back to the Future parts II and III with some friends. This sparked some good debate and discussion on the theory of time travel, pioneering filmmaking techniques and, of course, how badass the Delorean is.

I never knew before this week, but the technique of an actor performing two different characters in the same scene was pioneered in the Back to the Future trilogy. Having a majority of the times I’ve seen these films be while I was growing up, I didn’t know that. It was really cool to watch the films again having a bit more knowledge about filmmaking. Looking more closely now, I can see when a blue screen is used to get Michael J. Fox in the scene multiple times - slight differences in lighting.

By the way, I had no idea that Michael J. Fox played his future daughter in Back to the Future II. Growing up I never once questioned the character’s masculinity, but watching the film again I can totally see that it’s Fox trying to act feminine. It’s pretty funny.

The topic of how awesome Christopher Lloyd is came up, and that we wish we had the chance to see him on screen more often. I don’t think I’ve seen him in a role I didn’t enjoy watching – to a certain extent, his role in Who Framed Roger Rabbit scared the shit out of me as a kid. So not even two hours after talking about this with my friends I watch episode 14 of the West Wing’s sixth season and the guest star is Christopher Lloyd. His role is great too! He plays a very eloquent, intelligent professor and constitutional writer. It was great to see him throughout the episode, and made me wish even more that we had the chance to see him on the big screen more often. He’s obviously keeping busy with productions (as you can see on his IMDB profile) but I’d love to see him in some more mainstream projects.

We discussed the theory of time travel and where we would want to go too. It’s hard for me to decide where I would want to go; there are so many time periods that would be awesome to see. The Renaissance, Medieval and the Industrial Revolution eras are the first to come to mind. I can’t help but think about all the preparations that would have to be done in order to go though. You can’t risk catching a disease from those times, so do you take a bunch of antibiotics beforehand or bring a bunch with? Then there’s protecting yourself if people are hostile to you, and the dressing to fit. On top of all that there’s making sure you don’t screw up the whole space-time continuum thing – kind of a big deal.

If you could go anywhere in time where would you go?